OPEN TUTORING SESSIONPRONUNCIATION

USING THE IPA EFFECTIVELY

Objectives

• Talk about the IPA in order to get familiar with its symbols.

• Identify the most important differences between the phonetic systems of Spanish and English and spot the most difficult English sounds for Spanish speakers

• Get familiar with some resources that are available to practice pronunciation

…what is the IPA?

…have you ever had any problem while pronouncing some sounds in English? Which ones?

…do you recognize or know which sound is represented by any of the following symbols?

/ʃ/ /ɔ/ /θ/ /æ/ /ʌ/ /Ʒ/

In your experience…

IPAThe International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA) is

an international system created to represent sounds of any spoken language. It contains letters of the alphabet that you already know, as wel as some others that do not exist.

Consonants[b], [d], [f], [ɡ], [k], [l], [m], [n], [p], [s], [t], [v], [z].

Vowels

[a], [e], [i], [o], [u].

Consonants

StrategyTry to learn the correct way to pronounce and draw the symbols that

are different from the normal written letters.

/ʃ / Shirt, passion

/Ʒ/ Usual, vision

/θ/ Thanks, think

/ŋ/ Ring, sink

/ð/ That, brother

/ʧ/ Future, teacher

/ʤ/ Jet, biology

ExercisePractice the pronunciation of these words with the sounds

/ʃ/ /ʒ/ /ʤ/ /ʧ/ /ð/ /θ/ /j/

• Pleasure• Profession• Teacher• Magic• Yesterday• Think• Brother

/ˈple ʒər//prə ˈfe ʃən//ˈti: ʧər//ˈmæ ʤɪk//ˈjes tər deɪ//θɪŋk//ˈbrʌ ðər/

ExerciseFind the phonetic transcription of the following words and then practice

their pronunciation of sounds /ʧ/, /ʤ/, /ʃ/, /ʒ/, /ŋ/, /θ/ and /ð/

• Measure• Nation• Bathtub• There • Tongue• Age• Question• Lawyer

/ˈme ʒər//ˈneɪ ʃən//ˈbæθ tʌb//ðer//tʌŋ//eɪʤ//ˈkwes ʧən//ˈlɔ: jər/

[a], [e], [i], [o], [u]

Vowel Sounds

StrategyTry to learn the correct way to pronounce and draw the symbols that are different to the normal written letters.

/ʊ / book good

/ɪ / in his

/ə/ the about

/ɜ/ birthday first

/ɔ/ board door

/æ/ thanks bag

/ʌ/ but ugly

ExercisePractice the pronunciation of these words with the sounds

/ə/ /ɔ/ /ʌ/ /æ/ /ɪ/ /ʊ/ /ɜ/

• Woman• Sofa• Butter• Map• Third• Tall• Building

/ˈwʊ mən/

/ˈsoʊ fə/

/ˈbʌ tər/

/mæp/

/θɜ:rd/

/tɔ:l/

/ˈbɪl dɪŋ/

Exercise Find the phonetic transcription of the following words and then

practice their pronunciation of sounds /ə ɔ ʌ æ ɪ ʊ ɜ/

• Full

• Have

• Draw

• Intelligent

• Cousin

• Under

• Thursday

• /fʊl/• /hæv/• /drɔ:/• /ɪn ˈte lə dʒənt/• /ˈkʌ zən/• /ˈʌn dər/• /ˈθɜrz deɪ/

- Black back bat.

- I saw Susie sitting in a shoe shine shop where she sits

she shines, and where she shines she sits.

- How can a clam cram in a clean cream can?

- The thirty-three thieves thought that they thrilled the throne throughout Thursday.

Tongue Twisters

Why is the use of the IPA necessary?

• IPA makes the learning of pronunciation easier

• IPA allows learners to work autonomously on pronunciation

• IPA makes the association of words with the same pronunciation easier: to, two, too /tu/

• IPA allows the differentiation of words with similar endings: thought /θɔt/, though /ðoʊ/, tough /tʌf/ and through /θru/.

Suggestions

• Identify the sound and the phonetic symbol that represents it.

• Practice the pronunciation of the sounds whose symbols are different from the alphabet letters. Remember to pay special attention to the position of the lips and the tongue as well as the amount of air that is needed to produce the sounds.

• Use the IPA every day to prepare the new vocabulary you may encounter in the following lesson. Choose at least 5 words daily.

Useful Resourceshttp://www.upodn.com/phun.asp

http://www.stuff.co.uk/calcul_nd.htm

http://www.uiowa.edu/~acadtech/phonetics/

By learning to use the IPA, I will understand that:

• As I learn new vocabulary, it is important that I get familiar with its pronunciation.  

• Minor changes in pronunciation can alter meanings significantly.  

• There are sounds especially difficult for Hispanics since they are not present in their native language.   

• I can find patterns that can help me understand how to pronounce certain words.  

• This strategy is there to help you. Using the online tools will facilitate understanding of it.  

Thanks